Cabinet for dispensing paper toweling in roll form



Dec. 24, 1968 R. 1.. WOOSTER CABINET FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWELING IN ROLL FORM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 12, 1966 INVENTOR. Richard L. Woqster m @2415") Attorneys Dec. 24, 1968 R. 1.. WOOSTER 3,413,029

CABINET FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWELING IN ROLL FORM Filed Aug. 12, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

Richard L. Wooster.

Attorneys 1968 R. 1.. WOOSTER 3,413,029

CABINET FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWELING IN ROLL FORM Filed Aug. 12, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.5'

INVENTOR. Richard L. Wooster /Z44 was.

Attorneys United States Patent 3,418,029 CABINET FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWELING IN ROLL FORM Richard L. Wooster, Cloverdale, Calif., assignor to Philip A. Wooster, Belvedere, Calif. Filed Aug. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 572,132 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-39) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The dispensing cabinet for paper roll-toweling includes a crank-actuated, paper feed mechanism and a hinged front cover having a pair of roll supporting brackets. For stability in loading, the covers center of gravity is placed over-center of the hinge axis. One bracket, in the nonloaded condition, pivots to an interfering position with respect to an improperly placed fresh roll of paper, preventing proper closure of the cover. Within the cabinet spacer members limit movement of the brackets outwardly from the roll of paper. A support for a partially used roll of paper is furnished adjacent to the feed mechanism.

This invention relates to paper toweling cabinets and more particularly to such cabinets to accommodate toweling in roll form.

In the past numerous cabinets have been developed for the dispensing of rolled paper toweling but each has had one or more disadvantages, particularly in the manner in which the roll of toweling was supported within the cabinet. In some early cabinets the rolls of paper were merely permitted to rest on the floor of the cabinet. While being dispensed, the friction of the roll against the floor frequentty caused tearing or jamming of the paper.

O.her cabinets supported the rolls at their center for rotation by means of relatively friction free devices but the rolls in these cases were usually supported in such a manner that by rough treatment in jerking or otherwise pulling the towel from the cabinet, the roll would be pulled loose from is supporting device. Moreover, even in cabinets of this latter type, the cabinet attendant frequently dropped the roll on the floor of the cabinet rather than spending the additional time to secure it to the low friction support member. Much of the reason for the additional required time was that the cabinets have generally been small in comparison with the roll, with very little space for manipulation of the roll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The cabinet for dispensing paper toweling in roll form includes top, bottom and side walls defining a zone sized to contain a fresh roll of paper toweling. A pivotable front cover is equipped with roll supporting brackets, one of which is arranged to extend into the zone and to preclude closure of the cover when a fresh roll of paper is placed improperly within the cabinet. The cover is further constructed to place its center of gravity in either the loaded or unloaded condition over-center with respect to the pivot axis of the cover to insure stability when loading the cabinet with a fresh roll of paper.

In view of the foregoing it is a general object of this invention to provide an improved cabinet for dispensing roll type paper.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a roll type paper dispensing cabinet in which the roll is supported along its axis on relatively low friction devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet of the aforementioned character wherein means are provided to prevent the attendant from bypassing the low friction support for the roll.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a roll dispensing cabinet wherein the roll is supported positively so as to withstand rough treatment on the part of users.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a cabinet for dispensing a roll of paper in which the proper insertion of the roll on to its low friction devices is highly facilitated.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will become more clearly apparent upon a review of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a dispensing cabinet in accordance with the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a like isometric view of the cabinet of FIGURE 1 but shown in open condition;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of the cabinet in the condition shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the cabinet taken along the lines 55 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 66 of FIGURE 4 showing the stop for the roll support.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 1 through 6, the cabinet includes side walls 11 and 13, a front wall 15, a rear wall 17, a top 19, a bottom and a cover 21. The cover 21 further includes a front face 23, a top 25, sides 27 and 29 and a lower lip 31. The cover 21 is secured to the cabinet proper by means of a hinge 33. Interior of the sides 11 and 13 are reinforcing walls and 37.

In order to feed paper toweling from the cabinet there is provided a drive roller 39 and a pressure roller 41. A crank 43 is connected to the drive roller by a conventional worm and gear (not shown) such that a user may reel out paper past a guide 45 and a tear-off edge 47.

The cover 21 includes a stationary support bracket 49 and a movable or pivoted support bracket 51. These brackets 49 and '51 are shown secured to the front face 23 but may be secured to the cover or other location such as at the top 'wall 25. The movable bracket 51 is resiliently urged about its pivot toward the stationary bracket 49. Complete movement of the bracket 51 to a position adjacent the face 23 is arrested by means of a stop 55 such that, in its free position, the bracket 51 is at an angle of about 70 from the face 23. In this manner the free position of the bracket 51 when the cabinet is closed, as shown in FIGURE 1, is within the zone of the paper roll itself. Consequently, with a roll of paper in the cabinet, the cabinet, with the bracket 51 in its free position, cannot be closed.

The stationary bracket '49 includes a button 57 which serves to receive one end of the central tube or core 59 of a roll of paper 61. The movable arm '51 includes a rotatable device 63 which may take the form of the structure described and claimed in Reissue Patent No. 25,828 in the name of Philip A. Wooster for Paper Roll Dispenser. The device 63 is secured to a shaft 65 passing through the support 51. The other end of the shaft 65 terminates in a knurled knob 67 whereby the device 63 may be easily rotated for cooperation with the roll of paper.

Also included in the cabinet proper are a pair of angularly disposed shelf ledges 69 which may serve to receive a partially used roll of paper 71.

In order to load the cabinet thus described, the cover 21 is raised to the position shown in FIGURES 2 through 4 and in this position, as can be seen in FIGURE 4, the cover rests in a stable condition without the aid of external latchs or hooks. In general, the cover is constructed such that the axis of the shaft '65 is situated behind (to the left as shown in FIGURE 4) the hinge 33. In this manner the center of gravity of the cover, both with and without a roll of paper thereon, is over center of the hinge. Thus, even with the roll of paper 61 mounted in the cover 23, the cover rests stably in its open position.

In order to insert a roll of paper the movable bracket 51 is urged to the right as shown in FIGURE 2 and the core of the roll is placed on the button 57. The movable arm 51 is then released against the opposite side of the roll 61 and by rotating the knurled knob 67 the device 63 can be aligned with a cooperating portion of the roll 61.

Once the paper is secured between the brackets 49 and 51 a length of the webbing is reeled out and passed between the feed and pressure rollers 39 and 41. The crank 43 rotated until a short portion of the paper passes beyond the tearing edge 47. At this point the cover 21 is lowered and, as can be seen in FIGURE 3, the knurled knob 67 will ride against the support wall 35. In this manner the roll is held between the brackets 49 and '51 not only by the resilience of spring 53 but by the positive contact be tween the wall 35 and the knurled knob 67. Consequently, even with exceptionally rough treatment of the paper webbin-g the roll will not be pulled from the supports 49 and 51.

If, rather than placing the roll 61 between the supports 49 and 51 as should be done, the attendant merely drops it onto the floor of the cabinet, the cover 23 cannot be lowered, as will be apparent from FIGURES 4 and 5. In such an instance the bracket 51 will remain in its free position, as shown in solid lines in FIGURE 5. Upon attempted closure of the cabinet, the bracket 51 will strike the cylindrical surface of the roll. Thus, before the cabinet can be closed, the attendant will have to mount the roll on the brackets 49 and 51, thereby removing the bracket 51 from the zone of the paper roll.

If, at the time the new roll is to be placed in the machine, there is still a portion of an old roll, the older roll can be removed from the supports 49 and 51 and laid on the ledges 69 as shown in FIGURE 4. The new roll can then be inserted as previously stated and none of the paper will have been wasted. It is seen that although the cabinet completely encloses the roll 61 when in use, loading of the cabinet is done with the cover open. In the cover open condition the support brackets 49 and 51 are clearly exposed and free of the walls 27 and 29, as seen particularly in FIGURE 4. Consequently, loading of the machine ise extensively simplified.

Having described the invention in the form of two particular embodiments the scope should not be limited thereby but rather by the claim immediately following.

I claim:

1. A cabinet for dispensing paper toweling in roll form comprising a top, bottom, and a pair of side walls defining a zone sized to contain a fresh roll of paper toweling, a front cover hingedly secured with respect to said side walls of said cabinet for pivotal movement from an open, roll-loading position to a closed, paper dispensing position, means on the front wall of said cover for rotatably supporting the roll of paper toweling in a proper paper-dispensing position, said support means including spaced apart brackets, one of said brackets in the non-roll supporting condition thereof being resiliently biased into a position across said zone, said cabinet being proportioned so that said one bracket will extend into said zone and occupy an interfering relationship with a fresh roll of paper improperly placed within said zone unsupported by said bracket serving to prevent return of said cover to the closed, paper dispensing position, said brackets in the open, roll-loading position of said cover extending from said front wall in a forward direction clear of all portions of the cover serving to facilitate loading of a fresh roll, the center of gravity of said cover, with and without a roll thereon, being over-center of the cover hinge axis whereby the cover is stable either in its open or closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 498,900 6/1893 Hicks 312-39 X 2,197,284 4/194-0 Wooster 31239 X 2,308,840 1/ 1943 Vaughan et a1 24255.53 2,380,644 7/1945 Grondona 31239 X 2,456,660 12/ 1948 Werner 312-39 2,482,714 9/1949 Mell 3l2-39 X 2,726,823 12/1955 Jespersen 2425553 3,008,659 11/1961 Plotkin et al 24255.2 3,032,283 5/1962 Wooster 24255.2

BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

JAMES L. KOHNEN, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 24255.2 

